Early in April 1824, it rained incessantly in Missolonghi and the town was cut off from the rest of Greece. It was apparent that Byron was in poor health and had never really recovered from the convulsive episode he had experienced back in February.
Out riding with Pietro Gamba, they were caught in a severe downpour of rain and remained cold and soaked for several hours. A couple of hours after reaching home, Byron was shivering uncontrollably and collapsed on the sofa. His doctors proposed bleeding him with leeches, but Byron refused outright —
“Have you no other remedy than bleeding? there are many more die of the lancet than the lance.”
Some days proved better than others, but the overall decline in his health was clearly apparent over the following days.
“Lord
Byron’s health appeared not thoroughly re-established, and he frequently
complained of slight pains in the head, shivering fits, confusion of thoughts
and visionary fears, all of which inclined to me increasing debility.” (William
Parry)
Byron refused to be bled on multiple occasions
but was now warned that the disease might act on the cerebral and nervous
system. The doctors made it clear that they would not be held responsible for
the consequences. Byron finally succumbed -
“Come; you are, I see, a damned set of butchers. Take away as much blood as you will; but have done with it”
More blood was drawn over the following days. Eventually, two other doctors were called for a second opinion. Together they concluded that the patient was too weak to be bled again. Instead, they gave him some Peruvian bark, water and wine to allay thirst and applied blistering plasters (counterirritants) to the inside of his thighs and neck. Later in the day he was given laudanum and ether.
During the night, the fever
progressed, with spasms and convulsions. In a state of delirium, his speech
proved more incoherent and rambling. On the 18th of April, the
doctors reported that Byron was delirious and ‘alarmingly ill’. There appeared
to be inflammation of the brain – so more leeches were applied and yet more
blood extracted. Byron left his bedroom during the afternoon for just a short
while. This proved to be the last time he left his bed.
 |
On his deathbed cared for by William Parry and Tita Falcieri - having agreed to being bled (Book illustration by Robert Seymour) |
“We recommended the application of numerous leeches to the temples, behind the ears and along the course of the jugular vein, a large blister between the shoulders and sinapisms to the feet, as affording, though feeble, yet the last hopes of success. Dr Bruno being the patient’s physician had the lasting vote and prepared the antispasmodic potion which Dr Lucca and he had agreed upon; it was a strong infusion of valerian and ether. After it’s administration, the convulsive movement, the delirium increased; but notwithstanding my representations, a second dose was given half an hour later. After articulating confusedly a few broken phrases, the patient sunk shortly after into a comatose sleep.” (Mr Millingen 18th / 19th April; referenced in Thomas Moore’s Report)
Byron sank into a prolonged state of
deep unconsciousness and never recovered.
Twenty-four hours later, at around 6.00 in the evening on the 19th of April 1824, Lord Byron died at the age of thirty-six. This was the kind of tragic death he had hoped to avoid – “not on the field of glory, but on the bed of disease.”
The
medical opinion in 1824
Recorded by Dr. Julius Millingen -
“The immediate cause of his death was a rheumatic fever which attacked him from getting wet in a shower… The fever was at its outset very strong, and bleeding was proposed, but he obstinately refused to listen to the urgent remonstrances, and entreaties both of his physician and mine, till the brain was attacked… his answer to all our arguments was ‘‘the lancet has killed more than the lance.”
The Medical Opinion in 2024
Treatment in 1824 commonly involved a
combination of bleeding, stimulants, sedatives, purgatives and emetics.
Bleeding was very much in fashion. It is likely therefore, that the cause of
death was exsanguination (a severe loss of blood) combined with a re-infection
of malaria - likely human cerebral malaria (HCM).
In support of this diagnosis was the
volume of blood removed over the period of his illness (over 40%) and the
relapsing bouts of fever in Byron’s medical records.
The symptoms provide a consistent
explanation - sweats, shaking chills, body aches, fatigue, headaches, delirium,
nausea and vomiting.
Malaria was a serious problem and endemic in many parts of Greece - notably Missolonghi. Plasmodium Falciparum malaria was rife in the early 19th century. It is the only one out of the four types of malaria to affect the brain.
The
Aftermath of Byron’s Death
The Greeks commemorated Byron’s death with a profound outpouring of national grief, transforming him into a national hero and martyr to their cause. At dawn, thirty-seven guns were fired from the Grand Battery - one for each year of Byron’s short life. The Primates of Missolonghi suspended the Easter Festival, ordering the closure of shops and public offices for three days - and twenty-one days of mourning.
A funeral
was held on the 22nd of April in the Church of Ayios Nikolaos in
Missolonghi. The coffin was of plain wood, draped in a black cloak and
surmounted with Byron’s helmet, a sword and a crown of laurel. His body had
been embalmed and his organs preserved in vessels of spirits.
The simple
ceremony reflected the fact that the Greeks wanted Byron to be formally buried
in Missolonghi - or the hill of the Acropolis in Athens. He had frequently
asked to be buried abroad -
“I trust they won’t think of ‘pickling’ and bringing me home to Clod or Blunderbuss Hall. I’m sure my bones would not rest in an English grave, or my clay mix with the earth of that country. I believe the thought would drive me mad on my death bed.” (Byron 1819)
Byron’s
last requests were however somewhat ambiguous. His friends decided that the
most honourable thing to do was to return his body to England. The English
Authorities in Zante firmly endorsed the decision and the wishes of the local
Greeks were overruled.
